1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to truck rear bumpers, and more specifically to a drop down bumper for attachment to the rear of a truck or to a container transported on trucks.
2. Background of the Prior Art
Trucks in common use for transporting articles and materials often have beds which are at a high level relative to passenger cars. In an accident situation where a car or other small vehicle strikes a truck from the rear, the car can submarine or ride under the rear structure of the truck with the result that the passenger compartment may collide with the bed or other rear structure. It has become common, accordingly, to provide a bumper extended below the rear structure of the truck that will contact the front bumper or other part of the front end of a passenger car and thus help prevent penetration of the passenger compartment.
Fixed rear truck bumpers, however, may hinder access to the rear portions of the truck. Some trucks have load carrying structures which may be tilted and lowered to a position at or near ground level to ease loading. On such a truck, fixed bumpers are a hindrance that can interfere with the complete lowering of the structure. Adjustable rear bumpers which slide along channels or slots can become jammed and difficult to adjust. Existing adjustable bumpers require an additional step to adjust the bumper, or they fit only on trucks with certain tilting mechanisms.
Trucks often transport large containers. A typical example is a garbage dumpster from a construction site. When a container loaded on a truck for transportation extends beyond the rear of the truck, a bumper attached to the truck can be too far from the edge of the container to prevent cars or other small vehicles from riding under the container.
One method of loading the containers on to the trucks is to lift and pull one end of the container. The end not being lifted slides along the ground a distance before being lifted onto the truck. Similarly, when the containers are unloaded, one end must slide along the ground. It is advantageous for the end that slides to be equipped with rollers to reduce the wear and tear on the container, to aid in loading and unloading the containers, and to make it more convenient to move the container once it has been unloaded. The same end that slides along the ground during loading and unloading is the end that overhangs and prevents the truck's bumper from working properly.
For the foregoing reasons there is a need for a folding drop down bumper which has rollers and is suitable for attachment to a truck or a container.